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A nation does not exist in isolation. Not only Ukraine has to get her own house in order, she also has to accept the history of nations around her. If Ukraine wants independence and pride as a nation, she has to stand on her two feet. To be reliant on Western's 'free' financing or Russia's cheap gas will never strengthen Ukraine as a nation as the price has to be paid one way or another. It is in Ukraine's best interest to be friends of both the West and Russia (and Asia) as Ukraine has much to offer to the world. To challenge one nation or group, hoping for full and free (including under table money) support from the other grouping, due to the historical background of the two grouping, Ukraine will not get away with a favourable outcome. Ukraine may jeopardize her future. I sincerely hope the Ukraine's politicians feel for the common folks desire for peace, stability and livelihood, instead of freedom for freedom seek. Ideal means nothing if there is no secured state to start with.
A Singaporean

Ukraine's economy, as it stands in 2015, cannot handle competitive market pressures within EU, and due to its rampant corruption it flunks the rule-of-law criterion to qualify opening negotiations with EC. Its political and economic problems are more severe than that of Greece. Which EU country's citizens would want to provide it with economic assistance?

Intro: The Baltic states feel especially threatened by an increasingly hostile Russia. Andrius Kubilius, former Prime Minister of Lithuania, sat down with Florian Guckelsberger to discuss his idea of a “Marshall Plan“ for Ukraine, tougher sanctions, and why Putin hasn’t backed down yet.

Link to the article:
http://www.theeuropean-magazine.com/andrius-kubilius/9685-russian-aggression-in-ukraine-and-the-baltics

Well Yuliya!
The Ukraine will be saved; but it will take the demise of Russia.

That is not as improbable as it sounds.

The military relevance of Russia is far from certain. The Russian rearmament of their nuclear strike force is not only doubtfull due to lack of funds, but also the relevance of their strategic nuclear forces. This is clearly the focus of the USA.

In an unnoticed announcement the DARPA published plans for lauching satelites with a weight of 45 kg from fighter aircraft - notably the F-15. Now 45 kg is the weight of a nuclear 155mm artillery shell. These fighter launched shells could be lauched from the USA - and they are quite cheap - the quoted price is 4 mio. USD a piece.
Contrast this with Putins boast that in the same timeframe (end of 2016'ish) of delivery of 50 new Topol missiles for siloes - costing significantly more a piece than the entire american programme announced by DARPA.
Now the shells have quite a small yeild (about 2 kT of TNT), but even a hardned silo will have trouble if hit directly on the lid - and siloes do not move from their space, so the position is known - literaly down to the last meter. The production of these 50 missiles is thus irrelevant.
Putin has been shaking his antique collection of stategic bombers against all and sundry: Impressing Nato officer with the fact that he has been able to get that many in the air - they don't apparently know how many attempts it took.... Even for the small amount of fighters scrambled they would not have represented much of a problem.
The Topol missiles flown around in Russia on An-124 aircraft are probably going to seek another ride, as these Condor aircraft are probably getting reengined in the West and are being held as collateral for IMF-EU loans to Ukraine.
As to the submarines? Well the plans are grandiose, but lets see how many can actually leave port.

The plan is - as far as I can discern - to simply take away the strategic nuclear weapons from Russia. Laudable and probably achievable. As to Euro-strategic nuclear arms? Well, Putins clumbsiness has brought Sct. Petersburg and Moscow within easy reach.

As to economic relevance:
First of all the halving of oilprices has taken away any trade surplus and the liquid portion of the currency reserve by the end of 2015. Before that the goldprice is up for a whack - say down to about 300 USD/oz - making Putins hoarding of gold seem rather stupid because gold as a reserve is unsellable.

As to exports to Russia - well as Russia is neither willing nor able to pay market price for f.i. food - that problem was coming up anyway - and China can eat all the pork Europe can produce.

So what would Russia have achieved but bankruptcy with its war against Ukraine? A pissed off and humiliated army - not the most reliable supporters.

The situation reminds me of the fairy tale of the "Sleeping Beauty": The last good fairy cannot negate the gift of death the gatecrashing evil fairy has pronounced, but she CAN mitigate it to a sleep untill she is adult.

Now there IS a lot of work to be done in the Ukraine - corruption and outdated industry - pity for the Russians that the loot is worthless: Depleted mines, factories making fake antique products.

Putin has never intended to honor any peace agreement. Instead, he just wants to look like a choir boy while he covertly bullies Ukraine. He wants to destabilize the Ukraine government, and create so much chaos that reform becomes impossible. He is hoping that the Ukraine government will collapse, at which point he will launch a full-scale invasion to finish the job, disingenuously claiming that it is necessary for humanitarian reasons.

This may happen very soon, if the USA does not provide defensive weapons to Ukraine promptly, to raise the cost of aggression for Putin. Apart from the USA, Ukraine has no other friends, except perhaps Canada and Britain. But they will not act without leadership from the USA.

The EU will not help, because it is paralyzed by indecision, fear, and excuses. It is also paralyzed by Merkel's unrealistic wishful thinking. Putin is pretending to cooperate with Merkel, just to placate Europe, so that it will not unite against him. Merkel is Putin's dupe.

The US should support Ukraine now by providing the necessary weapons to defeat Putin's covert operation. In turn, the USA will gain Ukraine's long-term friendship.

If the USA does not act now, Ukraine will be defeated and absorbed by Russia, and Putin, encouraged by his success, will continue his aggression with other neighboring countries in succession. And he will eventually attack NATO members.

Sanctions alone will not be sufficient, because the resulting inconveniences will never be allowed to affect Putin and his privileged friends. If anyone suffers from the sanctions, it will be the Russian people. But Russia has a history of suffering through far worse circumstances than the present, trivial sanctions imposed by the USA and Europe.

Let's not repeat the mistake Neville Chamberlain made with Hitler. Realistically, we can forcefully restrain Russia now, while it is weak. Or we can fight a much larger war with a much stronger Russia, at some point in the coming decade, when we no longer have any choice.

It is great to read your words knowing that you are no longer incarcerated for merely having different political beliefs than those who were once holding the reins of power in Ukraine.

I can't agree with all of your points, but there is no doubting your legitimacy, nor any room for doubt about your patriotism and your love for your fellow citizens. Admirable.

It's my hope to see a future with you leading Ukraine. You've earned that privileged position and I hope that Ukrainians agree and will reward you for your courage, patriotism, and sacrifice.

Let's hope that Minsk 2.0 does save Ukraine. It could.

On the Russian side of things, it looks like their intention might be to make the West look inept, incompetent, divided and weak. And every time Western leaders or NATO make a misstep, they will capitalize on it -- using that misstep to justify further incursions in eastern Ukraine.

Were I one of their military commanders, that is exactly what I would do. (Reactive engagement)

No country or coalition is going to send in 500,000 troops to defend Ukraine from separatists/pro-autonomy forces backed by Russia.

Because that's about what it would take to enforce the long Ukrainian/Russian border and recapture rebel-held territory.

Sending that much firepower brings everything too close to world war. Ergo, that option is out.

By process of elimination, the only real solution is through diplomacy and winning in the global court of public opinion -- not by propaganda or jingoism -- but by strengthening the social and economic fabric of the non-contested regions of Ukraine and throughout Europe generally.

Non-contested regions of Ukraine and its EU and U.S. backers should be working diligently towards a strong and united European society (first) where living standards and civil rights far surpass competitor nations such as Russia (and others).

They should also be working on a unified (perhaps constantly evolving) political position (second) as you've indicated, leaving no room for 'divide and conquer' tactics by competitor nations.

And they should be working to insure uniform equality and economic opportunity throughout the EU and non-contested regions of Ukraine (third)

Even within the EU there is far too much disparity between citizens and between individual nations (and I'm a strong EU proponent, but let's speak the truth) and if non-contested regions of Ukraine are moving towards closer EU integration, it is imperative that reducing inter-nation European inequality must be Job #1 for both the EU and Ukrainian leaders.

I'm not talking about bringing down the EU's strongest team member (Germany), I'm talking about (as uniformly as is possible) raising the economic power of all EU states to present German levels. That includes non-contested Ukraine.

And by then, certainly Germany may have leaped ahead of the pack yet again. But no matter. If the rest of the EU has by then taken a quantum leap forward, that's what matters more than anything.

Of course that is a 10 year project, or perhaps 15, or 20 years. But without such a plan, the lack of an overall EU vision will allow 'drift' to preclude progress towards such ideals.

A re-energized focus on reducing inequality between citizens within the EU -- but this time, including non-contested regions of Ukraine -- is the best medicine against competitor nations taking advantage of economically weak (and thereby 'socially' weak) areas of Europe.

And that will bring about the end of 'divide and conquer' tactics being used by competitor nations against any EU nation or non-contested regions of Ukraine.

Imagine the EU and Ukraine we would've been seen today, had this started in 1990...

Yuliya Tymoshenko wonders if "Minsk 2.0" could "save Ukraine". She is right in many points about Putin's land-grab strategy and reckless quest, just to realise his dream of a "Novorossiya". But she overrates European leaders' willingness and abilities to confront him more decisively! Excluding Russia from the SWIFT financial transfer system is an option to further cripple Russia's economy. This may be their last resort. No doubt Russia's aggression is a case for the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The problem is that Russia is one of the five veto powers of the Security Council and will never pass any resolution that would refer the Kremlin to the ICC.
Is the conflict in Eastern Ukraine "on a scale unseen since Nazi rule in Europe"? How was the mood in Europe like in 1956, when the uprising in Hungary against Soviet domination was suppressed by the Soviet army? Or in 1968 when Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia and crushed its Prague Spring uprising against the Communist rulers?
Tymoshenko hopes that the "new road map to peace" that leaders of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine have agreed on, would be respected. It's true that the civilians in Eastern Ukraine, "deserve a return to normalcy". But if she believes that they see the "Russian troops and their local accomplices", that "bombarded and besieged" the region, as enemies, she will be deeply disappointed! It is unfortunate that many in Kiev don't want to realise the deep resentments among Russian speakers against the Ukrainian government, and that they want to break away! No doubt pro-Russian propaganda has adopted Putin's "rule-and-divide" playbook with success.
Given these premises, Kiev should engage in introspection and think about its future. If it wants to move forward and emulate Poland's success, it has to make painful decisions, such as to "divorce" the Russian-speakers and focus on getting its act together. Only by having a stable democracy and a strong economy, could Kiev show the Russian-speakers what a terrible mistake they had made by joining Russia! Perhaps in a decade or two they might want to return to Kiev, especially when Putin is six-feet under. Yet trying to regain control in Donbas would only drag Ukraine into an abysmal conflict, frozen by Putin, in which he could prod and stir to his liking. Without peace, Ukraine can never achieve its goal - growth and strength, let alone EU and NATO memberships.

You are basing Your comment on the false premise that Russia will persist - as a country.

The existence of Russia - Novo or not - is far from assured. Russia will end up as a declawed toothless teddybear nailed to a tree. Russia cannot exist without stealing. It will not be able to provoke a major war - just sink into its own quackmire.

I think European and transatlantic unity are being severely tested by both the Ukraine AND Greece -- and that Russian policy is fully aware of that fact. European unity is also under attack by pressures from immigrants trying to escape from the disasters in the Middle East, and by a surge in changing economic fundamental -- other factors that no doubt factor into Russian calculations.

In the face of all this, there are growing signs though that Europe and the U.S. are waking up to the challenge from the East. NATO is showing signs of life, and the Merkel/Hollande initiative in Minsk is a step in the right direction, whether produces near-term success or not.

It is still possible, in my view, that the Russian challenge can have the exact opposite effect of what President Putin's government seeks, and
result in the actual _strengthening_ of unity in the West. What's more, that unity may be gained with a greater degree of partnership among the NATO states.

Kyiv can make it's contribution by adhering to the terms of the Minsk agreement unilaterally (painful though that will be) until such time as it is clear to us all that the Russian appetite will not be satisfied short of further conflict on the shores of the Black sea. IF that comes to pass, unity of the West will become a necessity, not a nicety.

the trouble with this article is ..its written by Julia Tymoshenko ... those who caused and benefited from the corruption and enriched themselves cannot be parity to any future in Ukraine .Even worse .. those who WERE in power and should have done better Like Ms Tymoshenko should not be lecturing to Europe and the U.S about appeasement. True .. Putin and the ideological games that are being played will not be good for his position as leader of Russia or for Russia's financial future .. but let it not be mistaken .. Ukraine even if it come out unscratched in this situation will have to the equivalent of starting from scratch when it comes to building a nation .. a year after the new government ... there is no end to the systemic corruption or a failure as a functioning state .. Greece is a matter of threat to Europe a hundred time more that Ukraine .. at least for now ...Ukraine will have to do on its own ..

As every new software and any new platform is not perfect. There will be bugs and other issues until it will work. The same for Minsk 2.0. The question is if this platform will be accepted by all the involved parties. I doubt. Because this platform is created under specific circumstances and pressure. Therefore it will not work. And the reason is not only because Putin will use and interpret according to his imperialistic plans, but because the real problem i Europe. Unfortunately the term Europe starts to be just a fiction. It was a nice attempt to plant this term to our brain in European countries, but the results are more damaging than creating a real free future for all of us. This illusion and "cul-de-sac" fits perfectly to Putin, but USA too. The pragmatic problem is that we, incl. Ukraine should decide to sign a pact with which devil. Russia or USA.90% will say with USA. The are plenty of reasons and argument. Fine, but what will be the contribution of each EU member? Sitting on two chairs? Think "localy" act "globaly" Shift the problems to each other? Creating alliances with Russia, just in case there is no EU anymore? 1939 is very well documented. As for the fifth column concern, these are much easy to manage (Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, Italy&Co. still have obligation to EU and will change there attitude once if they see the EU is strong). The real divide et impera Putin has in his hand is the conflict and mistrust between EU and USA. It is not a coincidence that exactly after Snowden started to "sing" for the Russian, a very poisoned relationship between EU (Germans especially as the only hope to hold EU together) and USA. Instead of thinking before acting, unprofessional and irresponsible politicians in the EU started to put in to question the relationship with USA. USA has his part on all the increasing mistrust among Europeans, very well used and manipulated by Putin, but trying to "get rid" of USA "influence" and falling under EURASIATIC (UdSSR) influence is not really a clever solution. This should be the message to all in Europe and to Ukrainian too. Only a very strong presence of USA, politically (through NATO), diplomatically (through UN) and ideologically (through EU institutions who still predict the democratic values of Western Europe and USA) will show Putin the red-lines. And as far as Yuliya and many other Ukrainian "patriots", it is time to put your money back to help Ukraine. You collected more than enough in the name of a "strong" and "democratic" Ukraine. This is patriotism

Mrs. Tymoshenko may not like to hear that the southwest-russian borderland, which became Ukraine with the dismantling of the former SU, is only marginally relevant for Europe. Everything else is US-insprired geopolitical hype and the egotistical interest of the ruling oligarchic kleptocracy. It is less relevant for Europe than Mexico, or Columbia, or Venezuela are for the USA. Whether or not Ukraine can become a real state that is supported by the vast majority of its people (not just an election majorty with 50-60% voter turnout even in times of national crisis) with a fairly elected legislature that actually represents the people, an administration based on the rule of law, and a truly independent judiciary remains to be seen and judged over the next 50 - 100 years. During that time it will remain only marginally relevant for Europe.

Wow! What a tour de force of hate-filled ignorance. You talk about indictments at the International Criminal Court but neither Ukraine, the United States or Russia are State Parties and even if Ukraine joined today Russia would, rightly so, use Article 16 powers to block such an indictment anyway. Have you read a single International Relations book at all in the past decade or were you otherwise too pre-occupied?